Towards a more effective development cooperation

Table des matières

First Ministerial meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation.

On 15 and 16 April 2014, the first Ministerial meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation took place in Mexico. International experts and development specialists discussed thefollow-up to the new methods of cooperation which arose during the 2011 Busan Forum. They reaffirmed their commitment to making the international cooperation architecture stronger, more inclusive and more effective in order to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, particularly those which will be defined in the United Nations Development post-2015 development agenda.

1. Overview

Since the UN Conference on financing for development in Monterrey (2002), aid effectiveness has become one of the priorities for the international development agenda. Four High-level Fora were also dedicated to this issue: in Rome (2003), Paris (2005), Accra (2008) and Busan (2011).

The Paris Declaration, adopted in 2005 as the outcome of the Paris Forum, is the founding document on aid effectiveness and commits its signatories – beneficiary countries as well as donor countries – to reforming the managing methods of development assistance. It is based on five general principles: partner country ownership; alignment of the donors with the partners’ national priorities; harmonization of the donors’ actions and transparency of aid; results-based management; and mutual accountability between donor and recipient countries. These commitments were reaffirmed in Accra in 2008. They have also been reiterated and deepened in Busan, in December 2011.

The Busan Forum‘s outcome was the adoption of the “Busan Partnership Document for Effective Development Cooperation,” in which the development actors reaffirmed their commitments, adopted new guidelines to improve aid effectiveness, and agreed to work together as partners to achieve the MDGs. This document, which was endorsed for the first time by the “new development actors” (private sector, civil society, emerging countries), extends the application of aid effectiveness principles to South-South cooperation, albeit only on a voluntary basis.

The Busan Forum marked the transition from aid effectiveness (which was primarily focused on the management of aid flows) to development effectiveness, a broader concept encompassing new issues: support for civil society, promotion of the private sector’s role, the fight against corruption and illicit flows, the application of the principles of effectiveness to climate change financing, and gender equality.

Lastly, it marked the political reappropriation of aid effectiveness, with the decision to monitor commitments at the ministerial level and the launch of the [Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation/]. This high-level body which is open to all actors (including civil society and the private sector) was officially launched in June 2012. It is tasked with ensuring the political implementation of the commitments undertaken, and with monitoring them.

The Global Partnership will bring together, approximately every two years, the ministers and representatives of States and organizations that have endorsed the Busan Declaration. It is chaired by a troika of ministers – one from a traditional donor country, one from a beneficiary country and one from an emerging country – co-opted by their peers and renewed every two years. The United Kingdom, Indonesia and Nigeria are currently chairing this body. The first ministerial meeting took place in Mexico on 15 and 16 April 2014.

A steering committee made up of 18 senior officials representing the various categories of member states and organizations, is responsible for the organization and the follow-up of the ministerial meetings, as well as for ensuring that the Global Partnership is represented in international negotiations.

A reduced number of global indicators for the partner countries has made the process of monitoring the commitments easier. The partner countries have the flexibility to choose additional specific indicators, tailored to their priorities. The results of the first follow-up survey (July 1 to October 31, 2013) will give a first evaluation of the progress made.

The OECD and the UNDP assume the functions of the Global Partnership’s secretariat, and a joint working team supports the steering committee’s work. The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is notably tasked with helping to implement and monitor donor countries’ commitments.

The UNDP plays a critical role by:

— Supporting through field-based agencies the implementation and monitoring of the partner countries’ commitments;
— Engaging the non-member countries of the DAC, notably the emerging countries and the G77 members, in the debates on aid effectiveness, and by facilitating their participation in the Global Partnership.